Three years ago British journalist Dom Phillips and Brazilian indigenous defender Bruno Pereira vanished while on a reporting trip near Brazil’s remote Javari valley. The Guardian’s Latin America correspondent Tom Phillips investigates what happened in the first episode of a new six-part investigative podcast series. Find episode 2 – and all future episodes – by searching for “Missing in the Amazon”

Alexandra Morton-Hayward is using cutting-edge methods to crack the secrets of ancient brains – even as hers betrays her There are more Audio Long Reads here, or search Audio Long Read wherever you listen to your podcasts

Victor Pelevin made his name in 90s Russia with his scathing satires of authoritarianism. But while his literary peers have faced censorship and fled the country, he still sells millions. Has he become a Kremlin apologist? There are more Audio Long Reads here, or search Audio Long Read wherever you listen to your podcasts

Canonisation has long been a way for the Catholic church to shape its own image. As the Vatican prepares to anoint its first millennial saint, we ask how it decides who is worthy There are more Audio Long Reads here, or search Audio Long Read wherever you listen to podcasts

Seth Rogen may be known for his stoner vibe and comedies such as Superbad and Knocked Up, but behind the scenes the actor, writer, weed-lover and pottery fan has also become a producing power player. The US stock market is spooked and Trump’s henchmogul’s companies are floundering – has the great dealmaker been building up the wrong nation? And Philippa Perry advises a reader: ‘That voice in your head telling you that you’re saying the wrong things is not telling the truth.’

Marina Hyde on 1,000 grotesque memes of JD Vance – they’re all more likable than the real thing. The actor Michael Sheen grew up poor, got rich, then lost everything backing the 2019 Homeless World Cup. Now he’s giving away more of his money to help 900 total strangers. When John Harris first started noticing that his baby had some unusual quirks, he wasn’t too worried. Then came an autism diagnosis – and a fear of the future. Could a shared passion for music give James a way to shine?

Danny Dyer talks about his journey from national joke to national treasure. Fuelled by social media misinformation, anti-vax activism has accelerated – but why are some in the movement becoming disillusioned? And Philippa Perry advises a reader who is ‘struggling to feel like I matter in any area of my life’

With the mothers of Elon’s kids begging for his attention on social media, he makes much of ‘pronatalism’ – but is that just a fancy word for bad parenting? ‘I don’t know whether I’d describe it as fun,’ says Aimee Lou Wood on the intensity of making The White Lotus. And are ordinary life experiences, bodily imperfections and normal differences being unnecessarily pathologised? Neurologist and author Suzanne O’Sullivan argues just that

Two years ago, transgender teenager Brianna Ghey was stabbed to death by two 15-year-olds. The killers had been radicalised on the dark web, while the victim was trapped in an online world of her own. Now her mother has become friends with the parent of one of the murderers. On the second anniversary of Brianna’s death, Esther sits down with Simon Hattenstone to discuss her daughter’s murder and her own extraordinary response.

Marina Hyde on Keir Starmer’s palid imitation of Trumpism. The sole survivor of a landslide describes the pain, the fear and the long, winding path of recovery. After Kendrick Lamar lands another savage blow at the Super Bowl, a crisis expert advises on how Drake can return to relevance. And, ‘I feel happier and healthier when not around my mother’ – Philippa Perry advises one reader

Emperor Kanye and his ‘chief architect’ Bianca Censori at the Grammys – guess which one wasn’t wearing any clothes? Roman Kemp opens up about his journey from viral radio presenter to mental health advocate. ‘I feel more secure than when I was earning’: meet the woman who lives without money. And ‘I’ve totally run out of patience with my chaotic husband’: Philippa Perry advises one reader

From yearning for a ‘strong leader’ to being swept up in riots, the portents for our children are not good – and who can blame them for being so disillusioned, asks Marina Hyde. Oscar-nominated Cynthia Erivo has gone stratospheric as Elphaba in Wicked – what next for one of Britain’s brightest stars? And new research shows western medicine’s traditional split between brain and body is far from clear cut – could this new understanding provide a breakthrough for many complex conditions?

Confusing and capricious, Trump started as he means to go on: chaos, dysfunction and a coalition of creeps; Ruby Franke was a social media star who made viral videos about her six children – until she was jailed for child abuse. Now her eldest daughter Shari is telling her side of the story; and No Dylan but loads of Coldplay! What the songs with a billion streams on Spotify tell us about music taste today.

Move fast, break things, sprint to kiss Trump’s ring: Marina Hyde on the tech bro inauguration derby. ‘I get hate from both sides – vegans and carnivores’: James Collier on UPFs, emotional eating and why he created Huel. And “My partner blames a ‘lack of attraction’ for not wanting sex”: Philippa Perry advises one reader

Caroline Darian, daughter of Dominique and Gisèle Pelicot, tells of the ‘crushing double burden’ of being the child of both victim and perpetrator. Plus Philippa Perry invites one reader to see what happens when you prioritise someone who offers you stability and decency

Chris Godfrey spent a decade trying to quit smoking, then he tried hypnotherapy and it changed his life. ‘They’re probably not thinking about you’: Oliver Burkeman on how to liberate yourself and stop people-pleasing. And ‘one night I’m a murderer, the next my husband’s having an affair’. Why do we have the dreams that we do?

Fast-talking, finger-jabbing Jeff Goldblum on vanity, mortality and becoming a father in his 60s. Elon Musk (father of 11) supports their cause, thousands follow their ideology: to make it easier for everyone to have multiple children. Enter the unsettling world of Malcolm and Simone Collins, America’s premier pronatalists

The Duke of York is a royal problem, says Marina Hyde: it’s time they owned it. Matt Goss discusses mega-fame, political correctness and loneliness with Simon Hattenstone. After April Balascio’s foster brother was killed, she started piecing together evidence that revealed her father was a serial killer. And Philippa advises an 80-year-old reader how to face the existential void that is overwhelming them.

Some cases of child/parent estrangement stem from a traumatic childhood. But in others it can come as a shock to parents who believe they did their best. People on both sides of family rifts share their stories with Gaby Hinsliff Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, you may notice some disruption to the availability of new episodes in your Guardian podcast feeds. All the work on this episode was done before the strike action began. For more information please head to theguardian.com.

Writer and actor Jamie Demetriou reveals how an admin mixup paved the way for an unconventional career trajectory, the groups of women unmasking online cheats and ghosters, and Sam Wollaston extols the virtues of sitting down to pee. Because of industrial action taking place by members of the National Union of Journalists at the Guardian and Observer this week, we are re-running an episode from our archive. For more information please head to theguardian.com. We’ll be back with new episodes soon.